So all day long the noise of battle rolled Among the mountains by the winter sea; Until King Arthur"s table, man by man, Had fall"n in Lyonnesse about their lord,King Arthur: then, because his wound was deep, The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him,Sir Bedivere, the last of all his knights, And bore him to a chapel nigh the field, A broken chancel with a broken cross,That stood on a dark strait of barren land. On one side lay the ocean, and on one Lay a great water, and the moon was full. Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere: "The sequel of to-day unsolders allThe goodliest fellowship of famous knights Whereof this world holds record. Such a sleep They sleep-the men I loved. I think that we Shall never more, at any future time,Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds Walking about the gardens and the hallsOf Camelot, as in the days that were.
I am so deeply smitten through the helm That without help I cannot last till morn. Thou therefore take my brand Excalibur,Which was my pride: for thou rememberest how In those old days, one summer noon, an arm Rose up from out the bosom of the lake,Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful, Holding the sword-and how I rowed across And took it, and have worn it, like a king. But now delay not; take Excalibur,And fling him far into the middle mere;Watch what thou seest, and lightly bring me word. " To him replied the bold Sir Bedivere :
"It is not meet, Sir King, to leave thee thus, Aidless, alone, and smitten through the helm. A little thing may harm a wounded man.
Yet I thy hest will all perform at full,
Watch what I see, and lightly bring thee word. " So saying, from the ruined shrine he steptAnd in the moon athwart the place of tombs, Where lay the mighty bones of ancient men, Old knights, and over them the sea-wind sangShrill, chill, with flakes of foam. He, stepping downBy zig-zag paths and juts of pointed rock, Came on the shining levels of the lake.
There drew he forth the brand Excalibur, And o"er him, drawing it, the winter moon,Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt; For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks, Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-workOf subtlest jewellery. He gazed so longThat both his eyes were dazzled, as he stood, This way and that, dividing the swift mind, In act to throw; but at the last it seemed Better to leave Excalibur concealedThere in the many-knotted waterflags,That whistled stiff and dry about the marge. So strode he back slow to the wounded King. Then spake King Arthur to Sir Bedivere :
" Hast thou performed the mission which I gave ? What is it thou hast seen ? or what hast heard?" And answer made the bold Sir Bodivere :
"I heard the ripple washing in the reeds, And the wild water lapping on the crag. "To whom replied King Arthur, faint and pale: "Thou hast betrayed thy nature and thy name, Not rendering true answer, as beseemedThy fealty, nor like a noble knight.
Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again As thou art lief and dear, and do the thingI bade thee; watch, and lightly bring me word. " Then went Sir Bedivere the second timeAcross the ridge, and paced beside the mere, Counting the dewy pebbles, fixed in thought; But when he saw the wonder of the hilt,How curiously and strangely chased, he smote His palms together, and he cried aloud:
" And if indeed I cast the brand away, Surely a precious thing, one worthy note, Should thus be lost for ever from the earth,Which might have pleased the eyes of many men. What record, or what relic of my lordShould be to aftertime, but empty breath And rumours of a doubt ? But were this kept,Stored in some treasure-house of mighty kings, Some one might show it at a joust of arms, Saying, "King Arthur"s sword, Excalibur, Wrought by the lonely maiden of the Lake. Nine years she wrought it, sitting in the deeps Upon the hidden bases of the hills."
So might some old man speak in the aftertime To all the people, winning reverence.
But now much honour and much fame were lost. " So spake he, clouded with his own conceit,And hid Excalibur the second time,Drawn by John Rowell
"Swiftly strode from ridge to ridge. "
And so strode back slow to the wounded King. Then spoke King Arthur, breathing heavily: "What is it thou hast seen? or what hast heard ? " And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere :
"I heard the water lapping on the crag, And the long ripple washing in the reeds. "To whom replied King Arthur, much in wrath: "Ah, miserable and unkind, untrue, Unknightly, traitor-hearted! Woe is me!
Yet, for a man may fail in duty twice,
And the third time may prosper, get thee hence.
But, if thou spare to fling Excalibur,
I will arise and slay thee with my hands. " Then quickly rose Sir Bedivere, and ran,And, leaping down the ridges lightly, plunged Among the bulrush-beds, and clutched the sword, And strongly wheeled and threw it. The great brand Made lightnings in the splendour of the moon,And, flashing round and round, and whirled in an arch,Shot like a streamer of the northern morn, Seen where the moving isles of winter shock By night, with noises of the northern sea.
So flashed and fell the brand Excalibur. But, ere he dipt the surface, rose an arm Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,And caught him by the hilt, and brandished himThree times, and drew him under in the mere. And lightly went the other to the King.
Then spoke King Arthur, drawing thicker breath : "Now see I by thine eyes that this is done.
Speak out; what is it thou hast heard, or seen?" And answer made the bold Sir Bedivere :
"Sir King, I closed mine eyelids, lest the gems Should blind my purpose, for I never sawNor shall see, here or elsewhere, till I die, Not though I live three lives of mortal men, So great a miracle as yonder hilt.
Then with both hands I flung him, wheeling him; But, when I looked again, behold an arm, Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful,That caught him by the hilt, and brandished him Three times, and drew him under in the mere. " And answer made King Arthur, breathing hard: "My end draws nigh: "tis time that I were gone. Make broad thy shoulders to receive my weight, And bear me to the margin; yet I fearMy wound hath taken cold, and I shall die. " So saying, from the pavement he half rose, Slowly, with pain, reclining on his arm,And looking wistfully with wide blue eyes As in a picture. Him Sir Bedivere Remorsefully regarded through his tears,And would have spoken, but he found not words, Then took with care, and, kneeling on one knee, O"er both his shoulders drew the languid hands, And rising bore him through the place of tombs. But, as he walked, King Arthur panted hard,Like one that feels a nightmare on his bed When all the house is mute. So sighed the King,Muttering and murmuring at his ear, " Quick, quick ! I fear it is too late, and I shall die. "But the other swiftly strode from ridge to ridge, Clothed with his breath, and looking, as he walked, Larger than human on the frozen hills.
He heard the deep behind him, and a cry Before. His own thought drove him like a goad. Dry clashed his harness in the icy cavesAnd barren chasms, and all to left and rightThe bare black cliff clanged round him, as he based His feet on juts of slippery crag that rangSharp-smitten with the dint of armed heels- And on a sudden, lo! the level lake,And the long glories of the winter moon.
Tennyson.
Author.-Tennyson (see "The Bugle Song ").
General Notes.-Arthur was a legendary king of Britain of the sixth century, who lived in state with his wife Guinevere at Caerleon orCamelot, in Lyonnesse. Sir Bedivere was the last of the knights of the Round Table. Read the whole poem of which this is part-Morte d"Arthur. Read, also, if you can get it, Sir Thomas Malory"s Morte d"Arthur. Both are full of good stories. Look in your dictionary for samite, mere, hest, topaz, jacinth, joust. See how the sound of the words suits the sense in- "Dry clashed………….heels. " Can yon find other examples?
